The Neighbor
by HP-words.of.wisdom
Summary: Lily has a new neighbor. It's the last person that she wants it to be. Yes, it's James. Of course, he is overjoyed and he goes a little far trying to get Lily. Just hope he doesn't get too caried away . . . rated T but should be K.
1. The Neighbor

"Lily, sweetie. We have new neighbors and I want you and Petunia to deliver cookies to them. I'll stop by in a minute or two. I need to do the laundry." Lily sighed and put down her book. It was the first week of summer vacation, and she was already bored.

"Coming, mum!" Lily glanced down at her pale pink tank top, blue jean shorts, and her yellow flip flops. She shrugged at her appearance and headed down the stairs where her mom handed her a batch of homemade cookies.

"Can't see why I have to come," Petunia grunted and Lily rolled her eyes. Next door was a moving truck, and they walked towards the front door slowly.

"Anyone home?" Lily asked after ringing the doorbell and waiting patiently.

"Yes, come in! You are-?" a kind lady said.

"I'm Lily and-"

"I'm Petunia," her sister cut in bossily. "We live next door to the right."

"Welcome to the neighborhood," Lily said sweetly. "We brought you some cookies."

"Oh, I'm sure my son and husband will enjoy these." The lady smiled back warmly. Petunias' eyes lit up at the word 'son.' "My husband isn't here now, but I'll get my son." Lily and Petunia waited in the living room and the lady called up the stairs,

"Honey? Get down here. We have visitors. They're our new neighbors." A teenage boy walked down the stairs talking his sweet time. He was picking a piece of lint of his shirt.

"Hey, it's nice to meet you. I'm-" he looked up and his mouth dropped. He then smiled warmly.

"Lily! It's great to see you. You haven't answered my letters." Lily, too, had her mouth dropped.

"Potter? Do you live here now?" she asked shocked. Mrs. Potter looked at the two. James was grinning happily and Lily looked horrified.

"You must be Lily Evans, then. James talks about you a lot." James turned bright red but determinedly looked Lily in the eyes.

"Yes," Lily answered simply.

"Who are you?" James asked Petunia bluntly turning to look at her. Petunia turned a deep red as she blushed.

"I-I'm Petunia. Lily's _older_ sister." Petunia battered her eyelashes. "You are James Potter. Pleasure to meet you." She held out a hand and James shook it with his eyebrow raised.

"So you too go to school together? I know all about _you_, Lily. From James, of course. What about you, Petunia?" Mrs. Potter asked politely.

"She's a muggle," Lily said. They all jumped when they heard a knock on the door. Mrs. Evans walked in and introduced herself. When she found out that the boy was James Potter, her eyes became as round as galleons.

"This is James? He seems like a very pleasant boy, Lily," her mother said to her youngest daughter.

"Believe me, looks aren't everything," Lily muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. Mrs. Potter grinned and nodded and Petunia smiled sorrowfully at James. She seemed to be apologizing for her sister.

"So, Lily. If you talk to everyone about me, you must like me, huh?"

"Get lost, Potter."

"_Do_ you like me?"

"Hmm. Let's think. NO!"

"Well, want to go out with me?"

"NO!" Lily glared at him.

"Lily, watch your tone," Mrs. Evans said to her daughter. Petunia looked shocked that someone would say 'no' to James.

"But mum. I'm going into fifth year and he's already asked me out 50 times!"

"63 times," James muttered. They all stared at him.

"You counted!"

"Well, yeah."

"Awe, Potter. That's so cute," Lily said with kindness in her voice. Then she added sharply, "Too bad I'll never go out with you."

"Please Lily?" James asked on his knees. The two had forgotten that both their moms and Petunia were there watching them watching the scene intensely.

"Never! Besides I'm dating someone else." They stared at Lily with surprise.

"Who? I don't remember that," Mrs. Evans said softly.

"I haven't told you yet."

"Who is this person? I'm going to kill them!" James said fiercely.

"Potter? Can I talk to you for a minute, alone?" Lily asked smiling sweetly and James looked delighted. He leapt up and grabbed her hand. She wrenched it away. They headed for the kitchen.

"So who is this person?" James asked quietly knowing that this is what she wanted to talk about.

"Colin-nobody that you know," Lily hoped this lie would convince James. "And if you touch a hair on his head . . ." she added threateningly motioning with her hands that she would kill him.

"Yeah right. I'll find out and this person will get hurt!" James said and Lily smiled sweetly. She opened the door. As their moms and Petunia came in, James and Lily leaned in towards each other. James was about to kiss her, when she slapped him hard across the face.

"You will do no such thing, Potter!" she said as he held his stinging cheek. With that, Lily walked out the door.

"Lily, wait!" he called desperately after her.

"Probably going to find Snape," Petunia whispered.

"She-WHAT! Where does he live?"

"Spinners end, but they will either be at the playground or the lake. More of a chance on the playground." James ran out the door chasing after Lily.

"Hey, Lils. What's wrong?"

"I can't stand him!"

"What do you mean, Lils?"

"Potter! He moved next door. I can't believe it. You know how much I hate him!"

"Potter lives next door to you?"

"Yep," Lily said throwing a rock hard into a bush. James snuck behind a tree unnoticed by both of them. He had heard everything so far.

"It's alright, Lils."

"No it isn't! I can't stand him or the others. But Potter's such an arrogant toe rag!" Lily yelled. James smiled to himself. He decided to reveal himself now.

"Hey Lils! I was wondering where you went!" he said.

"DON'T CALL ME LILS!" she roared.

"Why? He can." James said staring at Snape.

"Well Severus is my friend. Too bad I can't say the same for you, but you don't have any friends," she said.

"Ah, come on, Lily! Just go out with me once!"

"No – wait a second. Do want me to go out with you so you could have dated every girl in our year in Gryffindor, and the year above and below?"

"No! Of course not!" James said truthfully. Although now that she said it . . .

"Good. But I won't go out with you anyways." Lily waved to Snape and walked off to her house.


	2. Opps and a Boyfriend

Lily was staring dreamily out of the window when someone called out her name.

"What!" she said jumping and hitting her head on the windowsill. Her eyes filled with tears from the pain.

"Sorry to make you jump." Lily turned to look at James's window.

"You better be! Now if you excuse me, I have stuff to do." As she closed the window, a hand grabbed her wrist. She looked at James, who was half out of his bedroom window. Actually, his foot was on the edge of his windowsill, but it was slipping. If she made him let go, he would immediately fall. The though crossed her mind, but she thought better of it. James realized the change of decision and sighed in relief.

"Lily, you have nothing to do. Knowing you, all of your homework is done and you already bought and read next years textbooks." She nodded sheepishly.

"Need some help?" she asked.

"Why do you suddenly ask?"

"You're holding onto me wrist for dear life, and you are cutting off circulation."

"Of course." As Lily hauled him up, for she was much stronger then she looked, Petunia walked in.

"Lily! What boy are you sneaking into the house this time?" she asked shocked.

"I've never snuck a boy into the house before," she said grunting in pain. Suddenly, James stumbled into her bedroom. Petunia started blushing and mumbling to herself. She exited the room looking embarrassed. James raised an eyebrow at her, but Lily shook her head.

"You can leave by the door, or jump out the window," she said.

"Okay!" James stuck his foot out of he window when Lily grabbed him.

"Really! Just use the door!" He smiled and leaned in to kiss Lily. She retreated. He took a step forward every time she took one back. Lily backed into her bed and grabbed James's hand to prevent her from falling. Of course he fell on top of her.

"Get off! I can't breath!" came her muffled voice.

"James! Company!" his mother yelled out. James huffed and Lily sighed in relief.

"I'll be back," he said disappearing down the hall.

"Hey Prongs!" Sirius shouted.

"Hi Padfoot." James looked completely down and Sirius was surprised.

"Moved in today? Where do I sleep?" he asked. James motioned him to follow. Everything was already unpacked by magic.

"What's up? You look really down."

"Turns out our next door neighbor is Lily, which is great, but her sister has a total crush on me. She's really weird and creepy. I managed to get in Lily's room and I knocked her over and was on top of her, on her bed, and I was about to kiss her. Obviously, she would have screamed her head off, but apparently she couldn't breath because I was on her. I was going to kiss her, but you had to show up right now!"

"Sorry Prongs. So neighbor is Lily? This could get interesting."

"Even better then that, I know where Snivellius lives. Spinner's End, which is nearby. And apparently he is still best friends with Lily and they talk every day."

"Too bad we can't use magic. But still-Snivellius." Sirius smiled wickedly and eventually James joined in. Remus laughed at his friends.

"Moony! We didn't know you were here! This is great!" The two filled Remus in on everything as they walked up to James's bedroom.

"Hey Lils!" James called leaning against the window. Sirius and Remus stared at him with their eyebrows raised wondering if this was going to work.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Lily said sticking her head out of her window.

"Works every time," James muttered to his friends, who were out of view.

"Every, meaning only," Sirius said quietly and sniggered.

"Who are you talking to, Potter?" Lily asked suspiciously.

"ME!" Sirius said walking towards the window.

"Oh great! Nightmare one _and_ Nightmare two!" Sirius and James burst out laughing and even Remus grinned.

"Don't worry. I'll control them," Remus said stepping into the light.

"Remus? Oh it's great to see you!" Lily squealed. She grabbed his offered hand and climbed expertly to James's bedroom. She hugged Remus tightly.

"How did you do that? You just walk right over here! I fell when I tried, and almost broke the circulation in your wrist! Actually, I almost _broke_ your wrist!" James realized that he said too much.

"That's how you got into Lily's room? You fell out there and grabbed onto her so you wouldn't fall? You're such a baby!" Sirius said grinning. "No more Maruadering for you!"

"It's easy, Potter. I guess practice makes perfect!" Lily said smiling in spite of herself.

"You knew I was coming and you wanted to make sure you could come here often to snog me, right?" James said grinning. He ran a hand through his messy hair.

"Yeah, right." Lily rolled her eyes. "My friend Kelsey used to live here, and we would always find something to talk about during the night. Once she got scared during a sleepover because she didn't have her stuffed animal, and she could go home to get it really easily through our windows."

"Oh," James said clearly disappointed.

"James! Dinner is ready!" Mrs. Potter called. The three Marauders were heading towards the door when they realized Lily wasn't with them.

"Come on, Lily." James grabbed her arm as she made to jump. Caught by surprise, she lost her footing and was dangling out of the window. Her foot was caught on a brick, so James couldn't move her alone.

"Guys! Help!" James held onto Lily with one arm. Remus and Sirius came over. As Sirius grabbed her other arm, Remus went downstairs for help.

"Mrs. Potter? Lily fell out the window and her foot is caught. James and Sirius can't get her through."

"What!" Mrs. Potter ran upstairs to see find the boys almost ranking her arms off. She growled at the boys and pulled Lily up using her wand. Lily thanked her and stood up. She collapsed into James's arms. He grinned.

"I think her ankle broke," James said calmly. He half carried, half dragged Lily to his bed and laid her down. Mrs. Potter healed her ankle and invited her to dinner after calling Mrs. Evans. Lily tenderly walked on her newly healed ankle and leaned on Remus. James kept shooting angry looks at him.

"Thanks, Mrs. Potter! Dinner was delicious," Lily said after eating the fine meal.

"It was no trouble at all," she said kindly. The four teenagers walked upstairs.

"Stay for the night, Lily?" James asked hopefully.

"In your dreams, Potter. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have broken my ankle," Lily said hoping out of the window.

"I wouldn't do that so soon," Remus said. Lily smiled and they watched as she made it safely back to her bedroom. Out of Sirius's special mirror, they also watched as she pulled out a pair of jeans and a nicer shirt and went to the bathroom to change.

As Sirius opened his mouth to ask what she was doing, James elbowed him in the ribs. Strolling up the path, was Colin. James swore under his breath as he watched what happened next. The skinny, blond haired boy rang Lily's doorbell. She opened it and leapt into his arms. The Marauders barely heard what they said.

"I've missed you so much, Colin!" Lily said smiling happily.

"Missed you too, Lily flower." Then, in front of the Marauders, he kissed her. James cursed some more when he saw Lily kissing him back. Finally, they broke apart and headed hand-in-hand down the street.

"So she wasn't kidding, was she? Dang flabbit!" James said and sighed deeply. What was he going to do?


	3. The Letters

"One, two, three go!" James whispered the next day to his two friends. The three teenagers swung across the rope they had tied to Lily's windowsill. They looked at the sleeping Lily, it was after all only 4 in the morning, and Sirius regretfully slipped a sleeping potion down her throat. This bought the boys some time. The boys separated and crept around Lily's room.

"I found a letter!" Sirius whispered after a minute or two. He skimmed it and his face fell. "It's from someone named Teresa. Her muggle friend." The boys looked disappointed and continued their search.

"Aha!" Remus said. He glanced at the name on the bottom and signaled James and Sirius. "I found seventeen letters from him," Remus said quickly counting. "They are all from this week."

"Desperate dude. Let's read them at home," James said as Lily began to stir. James glanced at his watch. It read 6:38. "We've been here for over two and a half hours! Lily will be awake any minute!" The boys scrambled out of the room and back into James's house. They sighed and grabbed a letter each.

"This is disgusting!" Sirius said after a minute. "Listen. 'I miss you so much, Lily. All of the afternoons we use to spend together, making out. Remember last summer when we-'" Sirius stopped abruptly making a face.

"When they what?" asked James curiously.

"Nothing." Sirius continued reading it to himself, when suddenly he let out a loud gasp.

"I can't believe her!" Sirius said his teeth clenched. "Not only did she speak rudely about us, well James and me, but she also told him about Hogwarts!"

"What!" James said with his mouth hanging open. Remus had fallen off the bed and was now rubbing his head.

"Listen to this: 'Potter and Black must be pretty bad if you call them arrogant toe rags. Your friend Remus sounds really nice. I would like to meet him myself . . . Thanks for telling me where you went to school during the year. Hogwarts sounds really nice. I will keep your secret about you being a witch, no matter what happens. I'll never tell a soul.'"

"SHE TOLD HIM!" James yelled frustrated. Unfortunately, Lily was up and had heard this.

"Shut up, Potter!" she yelled out the window. Before she had time to close the shade however, James saw her. Lily had evidently just taken a shower, as she was only wearing a towel around her chest. James grinned at her and Lily growled marching off to change in her bedroom.

"Quick Padfoot. Give me your mirror!" James said.

"Why?" Sirius asked as he attempted to find it. He growled at Remus who pulled it out of his pocket, unopened.

"Lily is getting dressed!" Sirius grinned at him.

"James!" Remus said horrified. "Don't do that! What has she done to deserve that?" James glared at him for a minute and was about to attack, so Remus swung open the mirror. She had her pants on, but no shirt. He closed it with a snap.

"She's not dressed yet. Give her a minute."

"Why? You looked, why can't I take a look at my future wife?" James demanded with his hand outstretched.

"I was seeing if she was dressed. She won't like it if you saw her otherwise."

"Give it, NOW!" James roared. Remus hoped she was done, because he handed the tiny mirror over. James eagerly opened it and looked excited. Then he sighed.

"Darn, Moony! She's already dressed. How come you got to watch the good stuff?"

"Potter!" yelled Lily as she walked into his bedroom.

"What are you doing!" he said as he and Sirius attempted to hide the letters scattered across the floor. Lily narrowed her eyes.

"What are those?" she asked slowly. James shook his head to mean 'nothing.' But Lily was too quick for him. She snatched a letter and read it her face becoming paler and paler. Remus walked in and jumped when he saw her angry face. He regretted finding the letters. They were hers, after all.

"Potter!" Lily yelled. To the boys' surprise, Lily simply ran back to her bedroom in tears.

"Lily?" James called out uncertainly.

"Go away," she said. He could tell that she was sobbing and he turned to look at Sirius and Remus.

"What did I do to make her cry?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"If you don't already know, then you don't want to," Remus said simply.

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! I hope that you like this chapter! I'll update soon if you continue to read and review!**


	4. Unwanted Magic

Ding dong

Ding dong! The doorbell was ringing. Mrs. Evans opened it to find James Potter with two other boys.

"May we please see Lily?" James Potter asked.

"Um, who are you?" she asked the other two boys uncertainly.

"I'm Sirius Black and this is Remus Lupin." Mrs. Evans face softened.

"Really? It's a pleasure to meet you. I believe Lily mentioned both of you a couple of times in her letters. Well, up the stairs first door on the left."

"Thank you!" the boys said and dashed upstairs. James knocked gently on Lily's door.

"Lily?" he said softly. He heard no reply. "Lily?" he asked again. He glanced at Remus and Sirius and slowly opened the door. Colin was sitting on Lily's bed stroking her beautiful red hair while she slept. She was lying on his chest and James could see tear tracks on her face.

"Colin," he growled. Colin merely smiled as Lily turned slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Seeing as I'm Lily's boyfriend, I don't know why I shouldn't be here. What about you three?"

"We're Lily's friends." Unfortunately, Lily had woken up when she heard a noise and had heard this remark.

"No you're not, Potter," she growled making all four boys jump. She turned to Colin. "In case you don't already know, this arrogant toe rag is Potter and the boy with the black hair is Sirius Black. That is Remus," she concluded nodding at the last boy. He smiled warmly and sat down on the other side of Lily. Colin pulled her away gently.

"It's okay. Remus is one of my best friends," she said. Colin nodded and put his arm around Lily's shoulders. "So, why are you here, Potter?"

"I wanted to apologize. I'm really sorry, Lily. We shouldn't have taken your stuff." Colin leaned into Lily and asked gently,

"What did he take?"

"The letters that you sent me."

"All of them?" When Lily nodded, Colin turned beet red. "Is this why you were upset?" Lily nodded again. Colin stood up after putting Lily down. He walked towards the boys with his fists high. James and Sirius pulled out their wands desperately.

"Did you know we went to school with Lily?" James asked.

"Yeah, she told me last night." James hated the idea of Lily snuggling with Colin so he pointed his wand directly at Colin. "Stu-"

"NO!" shouted Lily. She didn't bother to pull out her wand, instead she jumped from her bed and landed on James, knocking him backwards.

"Hello, Lily flower," he said smiling at her. She stumbled off of him into Colin's arms.

"He didn't hit you did he?" Lily asked. Colin shook his head and smiled at Lily.

"Thanks for saving me from that spell," he said as he pulled Lily towards himself. He leaned down and kissed Lily. Suddenly, he was thrown backwards. James had grabbed him and was dragging him away from Lily.

"James!" Remus yelled at the same time as Lily who yelled, 'Potter.'

"Lily!" Colin yelled fighting James. The boys were both really strong, but James was a wizard. Lily grabbed James's wand as she hopped out of the window.

"Mrs. Potter!" she screamed. The woman came to her. "Your son is fighting my boyfriend, Colin. I took his wand, but he probably has Sirius's." Mrs. Potter quickly hurried to the Evans' house. She nodded at a confused Mrs. Evans, but Lily just shook her head at her mom's questioning look.

"James Potter! What do you think you're doing!" she yelled and pointed her wand at James. He was thrown away from Colin and hit the floor hard on the other side of the room.

"Colin! Are you okay?" Lily asked pulling him up. Colin's eyes were wide.

"Was that magic?" he asked. Mrs. Potter gasped and put her wand away. This boy was a muggle and she had just used magic in front of him! But to her surprise Lily nodded and the boy grinned.

"Remind me why you aren't allowed to do it outside of school," he said grinning.

"You know that if I did, then I would get expelled."

"Then you could spend more time with me." Lily smiled sadly.

"I wish I could, but Hogwarts is my home away from home," she said pulling him closer. Her lips brushed against his. Before either of them knew it, the two were kissing like never before. They could practically hear the fireworks. At last Lily pulled away and hugged him. She glanced over at James and held back a laugh.

James was really angry and was trying to get loose of his mothers' ropes that held him down. When Mrs. Potter saw the two young lovers notice James, she decided that they were safe. She let the ropes go and James jumped up. He reached into his pocket but Lily had his wand.

"Lily! Give me my wand!" he shouted. Lily shook her head and grabbed Colin's hand. She leapt out of the window and landed softly on the grass. James, Sirius, and Remus were looking at her from her own bedroom window. Mrs. Potter had gone downstairs to talk to Mrs. Evans.

"Let's go," Lily said and she hurried away.

"I can't believe that she would choose him over me!" James said as he, too, jumped out of the window. He tumbled on the grass and grabbed Remus as he fell off balance.

"Wait a minute," Sirius said standing up. The boys began chasing after Lily and Colin. "Isn't tomorrow a full moon?" The other two stopped and stared at him.

"Perfect," James said.

**Author's Note: I know that Sirius and James can't use magic, so they can't turn into animagi. However, boys will be boys and will always think of something.**


	5. Werewolves

"Lily

"Lily?" James asked the next day. She was sitting with Colin on a garden bench in her backyard. She glared at him. "Lily? Can I please talk to you for a minute? Alone?" Lily finally nodded. She walked over to James.

"Lily, I'm sorry. I know that you won't forgive me. That's okay. Just come outside tonight at eight, and you can bring _him_ if you want to. Please come Lily. We all promise not to hurt you or your _boyfriend_."

"I'll come outside at eight," she agreed. James smiled and ran back into his house. "I have to go. Meet me here at seven tonight." Colin smiled and hurried down the path.

"Lily? You're _boyfriend_ is here," Petunia called up the stairs at seven.

"Stop mocking me. It's not my fault that you don't have a boyfriend!" Lily jumped down the last three steps and into Colin's arms and grabbed the picnic basket that she had set up. They stepped outside and ate dinner.

"It's so nice out here, Lily."

"I know," she breathed. She gazed up at the stars as a hand pulled a chicken leg out of the basket.

"Put it down, Potter," Lily said without averting her gaze. She continued staring upwards.

"How do you always know that it's me?" he asked sourly dropping the food.

"I can just tell," said she. "Anyways, it's eight o'clock. I'm waiting.

"What's happening at eight?" Colin asked.

"I don't know. Potter told me to come out here at eight and he said that I could bring you if I wanted. He also promised not to hurt either of us." James nodded and began the show.

"A puppet show? That lasted three hours? You're pathetic, Potter." Lily shook her head and Sirius grinned. "You are too, Black. You were in this." Colin took Lily's cool hand and pulled her up just as the moon appeared. Lily took his hand and a howl was heard.

"Oh no," James said looking at Sirius. Although they didn't know it, Lily knew what the sound was, too. She also knew who exactly was making the noise.

"Get inside, now!" she said. The boys stood there looking at her with their eyebrows raised. "You know what it is as much as I do!" James and Sirius exchanged skeptical glances but inside they knew she was right.

"Can we go to your house, Lily?" James asked as the creature howled again. It was much closer this time.

"As it is closest. Get inside!" The boys raced for the door as a creature appeared in the moonlight. James, Sirius, and Lily were inside but Colin was the last one as they had run in a single file line. The thing approached him.

"Move Potter!" Lily howled. Without thinking, James moved and Lily raced outside.

"No! Lily!" he called out desperately. Lily reached her boyfriend who was cowering near a tree.

"Lily," he called out hoarsely.

"Yes, Colin. It's a werewolf." Colin gasped and slid down the tree to the ground. Lily approached the werewolf.

"Colin, when I say so, run back to the house. Get Potter and Black to get Mr. and Mrs. Potter next door. I'll be fine. Just make sure the three of you do not come out!" Colin opened his mouth to argue but Lily shouted, "Now!" Colin raced into the house.

"Lily says get your mom and dad and don't go outside." James raced for Lily's bedroom, but met Petunia on the way. She let him pass but asked Sirius what was happening.

"Lily's being attacked by a werewolf," he said. He wanted to go out and help her, but if she had said no, then he couldn't. It was an odd thing, but Sirius just couldn't disobey Lily.

"Stupefy!" someone shouted and the spell hit the werewolf. James, Sirius, and Colin raced outside to Lily. She was sitting on the ground with scratches all over herself. Colin and James carried her inside and laid her down on the couch. They could hear the werewolf howl outside as it ran off.

"I never knew Remus was so strong," she said at last. Sirius and James gasped.

"How do you know what he is?" James asked.

"I've known since first year. I found out in November. I don't think that Remus ever knew that I knew." Colin looked confused. At long last, he spoke.

"Wait. So your best friend, Remus, is the werewolf that just attacked us?" Lily sighed.

"He can't help it. He can't control it at all. He was bitten by a werewolf and he can't help what he does when he transforms."

"You don't care?" Sirius asked Lily.

"No, why should I? He is still a really sweet boy. Besides, you don't care!" James and Sirius nodded. "I need to go to bed," Lily said at last. She tried to stand up, but was pushed down.

"Come over to my place. You've got scratches all over you. My mom will heal you and you can tell us what happened." Lily felt herself fighting to stay conscious, so she nodded.

"Let me carry her," Colin said. He pushed his sleeves up, but James held onto her shoulder.

"You look pretty tired and spooked. I'll carry her, but I won't do anything else." Colin agreed and they walked the short distance to the Potter House.

"Mum? Can you help Lily?" James asked. Mrs. Potter sighed and levitated Lily. She brought her into the main guest bedroom and conjured several bottles. She rubbed all kinds of things like potions on Lily because the cuts were so deep. At last, she woke up and Mrs. Potter left the room.

"Feeling better?" James asked sitting in the chair next to the bed. Lily shook her head. "You don't look much better. So tell us what happened." Colin sat down on the bed and put his arm around Lily. Sirius pulled a chair around and sat next to James.

"Well, there isn't much to tell. I knew it was Remus, because he's the only werewolf around here. After I gave Colin the signal, Remus started to attack me. He couldn't help it, and it wasn't that bad. He didn't bite me or anything. I had left my wand inside, so I had to use what I had. I didn't want to hurt Remus, he can't help what he's doing, but I can help what I'm doing. That's it."

"Poor Moony. How badly did he attack you? Did he try to bite you?"

"He didn't try to bite me. I was lucky. I hope he doesn't think that I'm mad at him," Lily said nervously. She leaned back into her pillows and fell into an uneasy sleep.


	6. Confrontations

"I can't believe that I attacked Lily

"I can't believe that I attacked Lily!" Remus moaned the next day. He was talking to James and Sirius in the living room. "I bet that she knows it was me!" Sirius and James looked at each other uneasily.

Just then, Lily came downstairs in red and white pajamas and fuzzy red slippers. She was clutching Colin's arm because she was really unstable. Unless she was seated firmly, she would fall over when on her own. To their surprise, Colin looked miserable.

"Lily!" James greeted. She smiled and sat down on the couch next to Remus. Colin walked out of the room, sniffing.

"Remus, can I talk to you alone?" she asked. He nodded and the other boys left the room.

"Listen, Lily. I'm sorry-"

"Remus, I know that you are a werewolf and that you attacked me-" Remus gasped. How did she know? "-but I know that it's not your fault. I found out in the beginning of first year, but I never told anyone. I was your friend all the same, and I still am now. I don't want that to change."

"You knew all along?" Remus asked.

"Yeah." Remus hugged her.

"I'm glad that you're still my friend." Lily hugged him back.

"Me too." There was a knock on the door. "Tell Potter that he still hasn't won me over and to stop trying. I need to get dressed." Lily walked slowly out of the room and James, Sirius, and Colin stumbled in.

"Where's she going?" asked Colin wiping tears from his eyes.

"She's going to get dressed. Oh, and James. She told me to tell you that you still haven't won her over so you should give up trying." James grinned.

"I haven't won her over yet," he corrected.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Colin stiffly.

"James has fancied Lily since he first saw her on the train in first year," Sirius explained. Colin raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah, and she's rejected me 64 times. No, make that 65," he said standing up to go find her. They heard a crash above them. Colin jumped up.

"She's not into you, Potter. Just leave her alone." James shrugged and went upstairs to help Lily who had probably fallen. Sure enough, she had. James walked over to her and offered his hand. She took it and stumbled over to the chair that James had occupied the previous evening.

James came back downstairs a half an hour later, grinning happily.

"Did you ask her?" Remus said. James nodded.

"Did she say 'yes'?" Sirius asked. James nodded again. Colin spit out his juice onto the floor.

"She did what!" he yelled. James smirked.

"Everything I've agreed to is true. I asked her and she agreed."

"What did she agree to?" Remus asked seeing this loophole. James sighed.

"She agreed that she thought I was annoying and that she would never go out with me," James said his smile fading. The others laughed.

"Where is L-Lily anyways?" Colin asked after awhile.

"She was getting dressed when I left her," he said. He glanced at the clock. "That was thirty three minutes ago," he said. The four boys went upstairs to find Lily.

"Rats! She left!" James said. Colin sniffed. "What's up with you?" he asked angrily.

"Lily dumped me this morning!" Colin said. James's eyes lit up. "I don't get it. One minute we're making out and the next she says that she can't be with me. I-I'm in love. With Lily Evans and this is really snapping my heart. I just wish I knew what I did wrong." Colin started to walk to the door. "I'm going to go talk to her."

"I'll come with you!" James said eagerly. Colin stopped walking.

"No, I have to go alone." James huffed and sat down on the bed. Then he got an idea. He grabbed his invisibility cloak and swung it over his shoulders and around his head. He jumped out of his window and dove into Lily's room before she reentered it.

Lily sat down on her bed, hugging her knees. Suddenly, there was a knock on her door. Colin came in and stood by the desk. Lily looked out of the window.

"Lily? I'm sorry for whatever I did wrong. It broke my heart when you left me. Please just tell me what I did wrong!" Colin sat down next to her and turned her gently so that they were facing each other.

"Colin – I-I-I'm-"

"Lily, I'm in love. With you."


	7. Diagon Alley

"Colin, you don't get it

"Colin, you don't get it. You're a really sweet guy. You're funny, sensitive, smart, caring, and so much more. But I only see you for two months in the summer. The rest of the year I have nothing but memories."

"Now I can write to you. I'll write every day," Colin promised.

"Knowing you, you'd write twice a day for the entire year," Lily said laughing. "But it doesn't make a difference. It's not like either of us could transfer out of school to be with each other. So, I can't do this. I'm really sorry to break your heart, Colin. But I want to date other guys during the school year. You know that I love you, just not as much as you love me. I think about you nearly every minute of the day, but I just don't love you enough."

James smiled. Maybe she would love him soon. Maybe . . .

"I'll see you around, Colin." Lily gave him a smile that made both Colin and James' hearts melt.

--

"Lily is single!" James yelled as he walked into his house. Everyone turned to stare at him, but what did he care. "The break-up with Colin is official!" Sirius high-fived him as he walked by.

"Where is she?" Remus asked.

"What happened?" Sirius asked at the same time.

"Lily is in her bedroom. I overheard her talking to Colin. He is head over heals in love with her, but she said that the long distance relationship was too hard."

"Sweet!"

"You broke up with him?" Snape's eyes were round, huge and full of happiness.

"Yeah, the distance was too hard." Snape nodded. "I better go before Potter sets my house on fire out of happiness."

"You already told him?" Snape asked Lily.

"Of course not. He probably knows somehow, though. I wish he would stop asking me out, but he won't." Lily hesitated. "Let's go to Diagon Alley next Tuesday."

"Okay."

"Bye, Severus!" He smiled back at her. He couldn't wait to go to Diagon Alley with her.

--

"Ready to go, honey?" Mrs. Evans called up the stairs to her daughter.

"Yeah," Lily replied.

"Where are you going?" James yelled through her window.

"Diagon Alley. I got my Hogwarts letter yesterday. I'm a prefect!" she called out happily.

"So am I!" Remus said poking his head out of the window.

"That's great! Congratulations Remus!"

"You too! Have fun in Diagon Alley!" he yelled. "James, we have to go soon, too."

"Yeah, why not today?" He told his mom and they drove to London. Lily and Snape were already there. Petunia had come along because she heard that James might be going. Mr. and Mrs. Evans agreed to meet the three of them at four outside of the Leaky Cauldron.

"What do we need to get, Sev?" He showed her a list he had made up. "Let's get going then."

--

"I'm tired. Let's get ice cream. I'll treat everyone," Lily said paying for the ice cream. The three sat down outside, licking the ice cream.

"That looks good. Can I try some?" a voice said.

"No, Potter."

"Please?"

"Buy your own."

"You can have some of mine," Petunia said holding out her cone.

"Er, no. It's okay. I'll buy my own." He bought one and sat down besides Remus and Sirius.

"So, did you buy your books yet?" he asked. Lily nodded sharply. She had bought hers ages ago but had bought new Potions supplies and other things such as new parchment and quills today. James knew this.

"I knew that this was a bad day to come," she muttered to Snape. He nodded.

"Lily?" someone said.

"Colin?" Lily answered uncertainly.

"Hey! I was hoping to see you here. I remembered you talking about the Leaky Cauldron before, so I decided to come check it out. It's amazing."

"This was definitely the worst day to come," Lily said. It was then that Colin noticed Lily sitting with four boys.

"Why are you with them? I thought you hated Potter?"

"I do. He caught up with us a minute ago. I was just complaining about him actually."

"You were?" James said surprised.

"Yeah, she was," Snape said. James glared at him.

"Let's go Sev. I think that I might buy an owl. I've always wanted one." She left with Snape, leaving a stunned Colin, a disappointed James, a dreamy Petunia, and Potter's laughing friends.

"Let's go," he said. He stood up but Lily shot him a nasty glance. He pulled out his invisibility cloak and pulled it over him and his friends.

"Don't bother Lily. She's mine," James whispered in Colin's ear before turning to walk up the street. Petunia tried to follow, but obviously she couldn't find the boys.

"At least we got rid of her," Sirius said. "I'm so temped to dump something on her." James nodded.

"Later," he said as he walked into a pet store.

"I like this one, Sev. What do you think?" Lily indicated to a large white owl.

"I like it," a voice said in her ear. Lily turned but saw no one. She started to turn, but grabbed the air. The cloak slid off of the three boys.

"Potter! Stop following me!" Lily said as she paid for her owl. She glanced at her watch. It was six minutes to four.

"We have to go, Sev. Let's find Petunia and leave." They hurried out of the shop and found Petunia quickly. They walked back into the muggle world and saw a car pull up.

"Hi! How was shopping?" Mrs. Potter asked the three. "Your mother asked if I would pick you up. The boys said they would be here by four, so they'll be here in a minute. Well, get in!"

They climbed into the tiny car and were amazed to see the inside was huge. It could have fit 15 people!

"Sorry that we're late, mum," James said as he pulled the door open. His face lit up when he saw Lily inside. "Hi Lily!" He sat down next to her and she moved a seat away. Remus sat on one side of her and James slid over so he was on the other. Sirius sat across from Lily. Petunia scrambled to sit on the other side of James, but she needn't have worried. Snape sat as far away as possible from the five teenagers.

"Excited to be going back?" James asked. Lily ignored him.

"You're lucky to be going back, Jamsie," Petunia cooed. "I bet that there are lots of pretty girls, but-" Petunia was cut off on her speech about how beautiful she was.

"Sure there are lots of pretty girls. Of course, only one catches my eye, and that girl has beautiful red hair and shimmering green eyes. Of course the person I love just happens to be the only person who hates me."

"Yeah, but life isn't fair," Lily said jumping out of the car. She hugged Snape in farewell and headed home after giving a friendly wave to the others.


	8. Love

Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait for the last chapter

Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait for the last chapter. This chapter is dedicated to MiaSlytherinPrincezz72. Thanks for being such a great reader and reviewer!

"Go tell her. You'll feel better," Remus said to James.

"Okay. Sirius you're coming with me."

"What? Why me?" Sirius said and made a face.

"Because you're so good with girls."

"You are too. It's just that Lily is an exception." The boys walked across the lawn and knocked on the front door to reveal a smiling Mrs. Evans.

"Lily is upstairs," she said. The boys smiled at her. On the way upstairs, they met Petunia.

"She's weird," Sirius said as Petunia battered her eyelashes. James nodded and opened Lily's door. She was standing in the middle of the room wearing nothing but her bra and underwear. Lily slammed the door in their faces and told them to wait until she got dressed.

Outside, Sirius wolf-whistled.

"She's smoking hot!" he said.

"And she's mine," James said. After a minute or two, the door reopened. Lily was wearing a green tank top and dark jean shorts. She was wearing a pair of green flip-flops to complete her look.

"What do you two want?" she asked irritably.

"I need to speak to you," James said softly. Lily looked at him expectantly. He handed her several lilies.

"Some lilies for my Lily."

"Thanks," Lily said smiling.

"Listen, Lily. I need to say this to you. I love you. More then you would ever imagine. This isn't just a long time crush, it's love. I've loved you since first year. Lily, please just go out with me once. I never stop thinking about you. I would do anything for you. I really would. If someone was about to kill you, I would make them kill me instead. Lily, I love you and I need you."

James took a deep breath and gave Lily a box of chocolates. Lily took it and smiled gently. Then she passed out cold in front of them.

"Oh man, Lily! Wake up, come on!" James looked at Sirius and sighed. Together, they hauled her out of the window and into James's bedroom. Sirius got Mrs. Potter and Remus followed after her.

"James, what did you do to the poor girl?"

"I told Lily that I loved her and she is the love of my life," James said quietly.

"You did?" Remus whispered. James nodded.

"Why didn't you wait until you were older before telling her this? I'm sure you are going to find a lot more people that you 'love,'" Mrs. Potter interrupted.

"Mum, I've loved Lily since I was eleven. Trust me, I would have proposed to her back then if you had let me. I find that I love her more each day." Mrs. Potter stood shocked. She knew her son fancied this girl, but had he really loved her all this time?

"Well, you shouldn't have said this to Lily. She's going to be in shock for a long time."

"Mum, can you modify her memory? Just enough so she won't remember this last event." Mrs. Potter was going to say 'no' but she saw the desperate look in James's face. She knew that this mattered so much to James.

"Alright, James." They put Lily back in her bedroom and cleared her memory. Then James and Sirius hopped out of sight before she woke up.

"James, I thought of it! Why didn't we think of it before?" Sirius asked late that night. The boys were talking about ways to win Lily over.

"What is it?"

"A love potion! If we give her a love potion, then she'll like James. She'll kiss him and eventually will come to realize that she likes James without the potion!"

"That's a great idea!" James said. Remus was quiet.

"Moony? Oh, Moony!" James said waving his had in front of Remus's face.

"Huh? I was thinking. I don't think that's a good idea, Sirius."

"Why not?" Sirius asked looking hurt.

"A: What if Lily finds out. I can't disobey Lily! B: What if Lily never likes James. C: She already has her eyes on another guy.

"What?" chorused James and Sirius. "Who?" they said at the same time.

"I don't know who, but Lily told me that there is someone see really likes. Besides, she hates James. Sorry, but it's too true."

"She is such a-a-a" James began.

"Yeah, we know. Anyways, James and I can do this. You don't need too, Rmeus." Sirius turned towards James. "Didn't you say that your mom has a bunch of love potions downstairs?"


End file.
